MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI – Business is good these days, according to Muskegon-area
home builders, thanks to an increased demand for new housing.

According to builders and industry reports, single family
home starts are on the rise in Muskegon County and are keeping builders busier
than they have been in years.

"Everybody in this trade is busy doing work," said John
Raap, owner of Triple R Construction. "There's a lot of work out there."

Figures from the latest Builder Track Quarterlies report
show that housing starts have increased since 2009. Four years ago, there were
30 single family home starts, according to the report; through the third
quarter this year, there have been 89 housing starts so far.

Houses are being built all over Muskegon County, according to
the report, but most construction is taking place in Norton Shores, Fruitport
Township and Dalton Township.

Most of the new construction so far is for homes worth at
least $100,000, according to the report. The statistics show that 39.3 percent of housing
starts are worth $150,000 to $199,000, 24.7 percent are worth $200,000 to
$299,000 and 22.5 percent are worth $100,000 to $149,000.

Builders said there a few reasons for the increase. The county's
housing market has been under-supplied for years, they said. Although houses
were going up quickly before the recession, demand dropped after it hit the
area, beginning in about 2008.

Housing starts declined significantly,
and some contractors stopped building altogether, Raap said, adding that
he hadn't built a home since 2009 until this year.

Today, there are fewer foreclosures on the market and
because construction slowed down so much in the years after the recession,
there aren't many new or high-quality houses left.

"The amount of inventory currently for sale on the market is
of either lower quality or there's just not the sheer number of homes on the
market that there was," said Gary Smith, the owner of Smith Development, which
builds custom homes.

Bob Sorensen, vice president of sales and marketing at
Eastbrook Homes, which has built subdivisions in Norton Shores and Fruitport, said
there was "a lot of pent-up demand" because the market was under-served.

In addition, low interest rates have also encouraged consumers to
purchase new homes, he said. Rates are currently at 4 percent, he said.

"It's much more affordable to own," Sorensen said.

The demand for new housing also suggests that consumer
confidence is up, builders said.

"When there's no confidence or a very low confidence level,
people aren't going to invest in the most significant investment that they
make, which is their home," he said.

But while there's an uptick in demand for new housing, it's
not at pre-recession levels, builders said. Smith said that isn't a bad thing.

"I don't think (today's housing starts are) anywhere near
what it was back in 2006, 2007, but I don't know that it has to be, either," he
said. "There was so much on the market. Now, people are a little more cautious
on what they're doing."

Still, some builders said they are optimistic for the
future.

"I think there's more good things to come, with the economy
continuing to grow a little bit with consumer confidence," Sorensen said. "We're
optimistic and positive for all of West Michigan, Muskegon included."